


the light at the end of the tunnel

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Claire is the best, Don’t be fooled by the title and description, Five loves his family, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Luther is our resident himbo, Number Five | The Boy Gets A Hug, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uncle Five is best Five, and won’t admit it, because he’s dumb!!!!, bless his heart, there is no sadness here, this is just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29242635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: Luther is nervous on a very important mission. Five doesn’t have time for his hesitation.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	the light at the end of the tunnel

**Author's Note:**

> This story was also for the tua zine! 💕💖🌸

Five rolled his eyes, turning to face his brother, a hand on the balcony as he squat behind it, "Are you serious, Luther? We can’t just go out there. We have to be quiet. A frontal assault won’t end well."

Luther eyed him warily, hunching inwards, "But isn’t that how these things are usually done? It’s a good tactical decision."

Five scoffed, crouching behind the balcony, peeking over it again, "No. That's how you get people hurt. No. Quiet, quick. Just enough warning, but not too much. We don’t want to tip our hand before the appointed time."

Luther nodded, "Okay." He fidgeted slightly, moving just enough to bother Five as he waited, tense, breathless. Five sighed and glared up at his hulking brother, "Alright. What’s wrong with you?"

Luther blurted, "Why do  _I_ have to be the distraction?"

Five squinted, as if he was having difficulty comprehending why his brother was so tense, "Because you're too huge to hide? Plus, they'll suspect less from you. You don’t have the brains or the tactical genius to pull this off."

It was Luther's turn to glare. 

He opened his mouth, but whatever retort he had was cut off as the walkie-talkie fizzed with Diego's voice, frantic as he whispered, "The eagle has landed! I repeat, the eagle has landed!"

Five rolled his eyes, unclipping it from his belt and hissing back into it, "Message received. We're going silent."

He nodded to Luther, eyes hard and flinty, he pointed at him, "We're depending on you, Luther. Do  _not_ mess this up for us." He vanished in a flash of blue.

Luther sighed, running his hands over his face as he breathed out.

He could do this. 

* * *

He couldn’t do this.

Luther smiled, all teeth, sweat dripping down the back of his neck. His coat was too heavy, each fiber suddenly itchy against his skin. He pushed open the door, "And this way is the kitchen..."

The little girl looked around, eyes wide, "Whoa, cool! This place is so big!"

She darted forward, examining the counter as if it was the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.

Allison didn’t follow her, instead she frowned, staring up at her brother suspiciously, "Luther, are you alright? You’re acting... strange."

Luther shrugged, scratching his chin, voice cracking, "Nervous? I’m not- I’m not  _nervous_ -“ he wanted to hide his face in his hands. Stupid Number One, stupid! He was being completely suspicious. 

Allison's brow softened, "Its okay to be nervous Luther. I know it’s Claire's first time at the house and that’s a little strange, but it’ll be fine. You’ll see." She patted his shoulder.

Luther laughed with relief, "Oh, yeah. Definitely."

Allison's eyes narrowed, watching him swallow carefully and avoid her eyes with all the tact of a rhinoceros.

Allison looked around, frowning, "Say, Luther, where  is everyone else anyway-?”

Luther started forward, brushing past her, "Hey Claire! Wait until you see the dining room!" He scooped her up, Claire laughing as he did so, curls bouncing around her neck, "Can I ride on your shoulders, Uncle Luther?"

He smiled genuinely at his niece, nervousness lessening, "Sure, Claire."

Claire's small hands patted his head as they moved forward, him ducking carefully under the door frame. Claire giggled and smacked the ceiling with excitement. Allison followed them, not quite as reassured as she wanted to be.

They passed through the hallways quickly and into the darkened dining room. Allison frowned, staring to feel nervousness as well.

The lights suddenly turned on, Diego standing there and they startled backwards, Claire shrieking as Klaus and Vanya threw themselves out from behind pillars, Ben tumbling over Klaus and nearly crashing to the floor, "Surprise!"

Claire gasped, taking in the table, covered with a sloppy cake and several presents piled high beside it. She shrieked, patting Luther's head to let her down. She stared as he lowered her to the floor, "This is for  me? For my birthday?"

Klaus shrugged, "Well it’s tomorrow isn’t it?"

Claire nodded and clapped her hands, "Thank you, Uncle Klaus!"

Allison pressed a hand to her chest, "Holy shit, Luther. You almost gave me a heart attack." Luther scratched the back his head, "Yeah, sorry about that."

Allison smiled, watching Claire bounce from place to place, giving Vanya a bone-crushing hug before throwing herself at Ben and Diego. Allison couldn’t help the swell of love that filled her heart, "Thank you for putting this together."

Luther flushed, "Well, I um, I didn’t." He shuffled his feet sheepishly, "Five did." He paused, face paling, "Oh, he made us promise not to tell you. Though I don’t think Klaus really intended on doing that."

It was at that moment, Five warped in, looking very smug as he took in the joyous mess before turning back to Allison with the best poker face she’d seen in her life, "I heard yelling. What happened?"

Claire threw up her hands, "Uncle Five! It’s my birthday!"

Five snorted, "Oh really?"

Claire darted around the table, throwing herself at Five, "Yeah! Really really! Soon I might even be taller than you!"

Allison had seen Five kill people for insinuations about his age and height that were less than that. However, Five merely pulled Claire into a tight hug, with a scoff, "Sure you will. When pigs fly."

Claire giggled.

Allison suppressed a smile. 

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is here: https://ford-ye-fiji.tumblr.com/


End file.
